Govt, RBZ, review bond notes’ 100 days in circulation

zwnews.com Business Reporter

The Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Patrick Chinamasa, and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya will in Harare today review the marking of 100 days of bond notes in circulation.

The bond notes clocked 100 days in circulation on 8 March 2017.

The review to be hosted by the Retailers Association of Zimbabwe is expected to look into the performance of the surrogate currency in the economy, as well as giving an overview of the prospects ahead.

This comes after there have been reports of unscrupulous businesses who have been devaluing the bond notes by putting three different prices on their products. They put one price for swipe, another in US dollars and the third in bond notes, where those buying using bond notes pay out slightly more for the same products.

Today’s review will enable the RBZ to clear the air concerning the 3 tier pricing system, as well as assessing the impacts of the bond notes to the economy, in production and exporting of goods.

Mangudya has been shouting on top of his voice that the system of putting different prices based on what mode of payment the client would be using is illegal, and maintains that the bond notes are at par in value with the US dollar.

All these will come under scrutiny today.

The bond notes were introduced in November 2016, under an export initiative scheme backed to the tune of US$200 million courtesy of the African Export-Import Bank, as a way to solve the liquidity challenges in the country.